


Someone to Know

by Nixie_DeAngel



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, BAMF Bucky Barnes, BAMF Natasha Romanov, F/M, Mentions of Violence, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, and pre BuckyNat too, but nothing graphic, nat and tony friendship, past bucky/nat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:28:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21919087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nixie_DeAngel/pseuds/Nixie_DeAngel
Summary: Straightening up as she let her face go blank, Natasha stepped quietly into her boss’s office, letting the door fall shut silently behind her. Eyes flickering to the two unknown suits sitting opposite Maria Hill, she arched a brow as she shot the other woman a questioning look even as she stepped up to stand before the only open seat left in the room. “Ma’am,” she added with a firm nod.“Agent Romanov,” SHIELD Sub-Director Hill nods back, jutting her chin out to indicate she should take a seat as she lifted a thick closed file before handing it over to her top agent. “Your new assignment,” she explained in a bland voice that instantly set Natasha on edge.Or, Natasha gets a blast from her past when she takes on an assignment to do a joint operation with the CIA.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov
Kudos: 16
Collections: Marvel Reverse Big Bang 2019





	Someone to Know

**Author's Note:**

> The tags will be edited as the chapters get added. 
> 
> This was written for Huntress79, whose art I claimed! I hope you enjoy what I've come up with.

* * *

_In the past...._

Natasha Romanov had spent her whole life being trained in any, and all manners of stealing and lying. Learned all forms of fighting, and how to deal death like it was a dance before she’d ever had the option of learning anything else. She was used to constant action, to always be, either on the move from assignment to assignment, or beating sub par agents. So being stuck in the same place, on the same assignment for the last two months, with no action or movement, had her tense and testy in a way she was unaccustomed to. 

Which was why when a body had slammed into her walking across the courtyard, she had to fight down her first instinct — which was to drop into a fight stance and unleash all of her pent up aggression — instead close her eyes, take a long, deep breath before releasing it slowly through her nose. Opening her eyes to narrow at the stuttering tool who’d run into her, she hitched her messenger bag back up onto her shoulder as she let her gaze go sharp and narrow into a glare as she took in the bumbling idiot who’d smacked into her. “Excuse you.” 

“I’m, ah, I’m so sorry about that,” he answers, voice open and friendly, though soft as he crouches down to gather up the few books of his he’d dropped on the ground when they’d run into one another. Tilting his head up, he flashes her a small, sheepish smile before standing up. “I’m afraid I didn’t see you there.” 

“It’s, it’s fine.” Instead of snapping like she wants too, she says it softer, lighter — though her voice still comes out tense and sharp, “These things happen,” she adds, flashing him a forced smile before stepping around his larger frame and stalks off towards the Foster building, that holds the labs for engineers.

Days later, Nat draws up short, eyes narrowed to slits and shoulders drawing up with tension as she let her gaze settle on the person standing before you. “You.” She watches as the man lifts his head up from where he’d been bent over reading a book and eyes her in confusion.

It takes a moment but his face clears as he seems to recognize her, lips widening into a grin as he snaps his book closed. “You,” he chippers back at her happily. “Hi,” he adds with a nod of his head, eyes crinkling at the sides from who wide his grin is. 

“Are you following me?” she asks, more demanding and less flirty than what it probably should have been, Nat thinks to herself but it’s not like he’s part of the mission, so she forgives herself for not keeping to her character as strictly as she normally would. 

Instead of seeming upset or bothered by her unjust attitude, he instead lets out a low chuckle and gathers up his things. “I feel like that should be my line here,” he says, just a touch charming. “Since I was here first, after all, so I don't think you accusing me works all that well.”

Eyeing him, Nat nods, “I guess you _might_ have a point there,” she agrees. “Just this is the second time I’ve seen you in so many days, and a girl's gotta be careful, you know.”

“Very true,” he agrees. “I’m James Collins,” he introduces himself, though he doesn’t stick his hand out for her to shake, just wiggles the fingers of his right hand in a half wave.

“Allison,” she replies after a long moment, finally letting herself relax.

“No last name, Allison?” 

“I don’t give that out for free,” she flirts back at him, half smile playing coyly at her lips. 

Lips stretching into a wide, bright grin, he nods at her. “Then could I interest you in allowing me to buy you a cup of half decent coffee?”

"As long as it's hot," she answers.

* * *

_Present Day..._

“Ah, Agent Romanov, come in, please.”

Straightening up as she let her face go blank, Natasha stepped quietly into her boss’s office, letting the door fall shut silently behind her. Eyes flickering to the two unknown suits sitting opposite Maria Hill, she arched a brow as she shot the other woman a questioning look even as she stepped up to stand before the only open seat left in the room. “Ma’am,” she added with a firm nod. 

“Agent Romanov,” SHIELD Sub-Director Hill nods back, jutting her chin out to indicate she should take a seat as she lifts a thick closed file before handing it over to her top agent. “Your new assignment,” she explained in a bland voice that instantly set Natasha on edge.

Maria Hill only ever used _that_ tone when she was doing her level best to keep her temper in check when around people she needed to appear as cool and aloof too. 

It set Nat’s teeth on edge and made her sit up even straighter as she lowered herself into the seat.

“Your target is Secretary Alexander Pierce.”

 _Ah_ , Nat thought to herself as she flipped the file open, _that explains the tone and the tension in her shoulders._ She gave the papers a quick scan through as she listened idly to Maria give her a brief rundown of her mission, about needing to get close to the head of the security council and find out if he’s truly selling trade secrets to Hydra agents. 

“You’ll be partnering up with the DC branch of SHIELD on this,” Hill added with a nod to the men sitting next to Natasha. “They’ve already got an operative on Pierce’s detail, so it’ll be a joint operation with them.” Maria cut a look at Natasha, somehow making it both long suffering and mildly annoyed. “ _Complete_ cooperation, Agent Romanov.”

Curling her lips into a half smirk, Nat nods, “Yes, ma'am.”

“I’m Agent Sam Wilson,” the man on the end speaks up, tossing Natasha a wide open, friendly smile as he nods to her, “This is my partner, Agent Brock Rumlow,” he adds with a wave to the other man with his left hand, while leaning forward with his right to hand her a smaller file.

Reaching forward, she nods to them both as she grabs the file. Flipping it open to scan it, Natasha was grateful for her years of her training, because it was the only thing that kept her jaw from dropping and her eyes widening as she took in the photo plastered on the first page. Taking a small breath, she let her eyes roam over the picture, the dark eyes, the scruff along the strong jawline and the messy, spike styled hair of her first — and if she were being truly honest here, really her only — love.

"That’s our undercover, Agent James Barnes," Sam explains. "He’s been placed on Pierce’s security detail as of last month. Still low man in the team but he's made good friends with a few of the guys, so we've gotten some good insight already."

"Agent Barnes is being brought in this evening to be briefed on you, and your cover." Sam tacks on when it's clear Nat isn't going to say anything. 

"You'll spend the afternoon working with Agent Lewis to iron out all of your details, so we can have your file prepped for him when he's brought in," Hill adds. "Let your handler know before stopping by her office."

After dealing with her handler, and going over her cover with Agent Darcy Lewis, Nat slunk down to the basement levels of the New York HQ before slipping into the only lab lit up and pulsing with noise. "JARVIS," she murmurs softly, lips twitching into a small grin as the music cuts out abruptly, causing the labs sole owner to let a sharp cry of protest. 

“Rude,” Tony cries out, turning to look over his shoulder and shoot her a playful glare before breaking out into a grin as he turned his attention back down to the table covered with bits and bobs of broken and half put together gadgets.

"You asked if I would announce my presence from now," she points out, half teasing as she moves further into the room, "I'm only following your requests." Padding nearly soundlessly over to the couch Tony kept down there for when he — or one of the _very_ few agents he trusted — need to catch a few hours or crash from an all-night binge. "So I didn’t cause you any more unnecessary heart palpitations."

Pausing, Tony bobs his head and then lets out an overly dramatic sigh, “That I did, Red, that I did.” Grabbing a tablet, that was balancing dangerously on the edge of the table, and spun on his heel, Tony practically skips over to her before dropping down next to her. “So this is your lift of equipment,” he flashes the screen towards her, “Mostly your basically standard stuff. Listening devices, anti-listening devices, mini cams and recorders, blah, blah, blah. There, now agent meanie face can't yell at me for not briefing you.”

Rolling her eyes, she let out a low, throaty chuckle as she shifted around to toss her feet over Tony’s lap. 

Letting his head roll towards her, he let his lips curl up into a mischievous grin, “Which means I’ve done my job for your, and I now I can take my mandated fifteen break. Which means, you need to tell me everything.”

“Tell you what?” she asks blandly, letting her face settle into something resembling innocents.

Huffing, he narrows his eyes at her. “Natasha, you know damn well what I want to know.”

Arching her brow at him, she narrowed her eyes. “How do _you_ know already?”

"Please." Tony flapped his hand around. "Lets not pretend you don’t know I have JARVIS monitoring your assignments."

“ _Tony_ ,” she half sighs, half grumbles. It’s an old argument between them, one that neither were willing to budge on. “One day I’m going to regret letting you befriend me and telling you things.”

Snorting, he shoots her a wide, bright grin, “Please darling, you love me. You wouldn't know what to _do_ with yourself if you didn't have me in your life, and you know it.” He sing-songs as he moves to pat her calf. “Now come on. Tell Uncle Tony _all_ about it.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” she finally says after stretching out the silence enough JARVIS makes a sound to prompt her into speaking. “Really. It’s, it’ll be fine,” she says, “There’s not much of an option for any other sort of outcome.” 

And she means it, because there really isn’t any other option for a different outcome of working with her first love, a man she hasn’t thought about in nearly five years since she’d left him sitting in Loki’s Cafe on that rainy day. 

Which is a lie, because she’s spent _every day_ in the five years, four months and nine days since she last saw James Collins — Barnes, Barnes her mind corrects — thinking about him and how he was doing, wondering if he ever thought about her or if after she’d left he’d simply put her out of his mind and life like she should have done, like she’d been trained to do as a child. 

“Liar,” Tony says, somehow coming out fond and sad at once.

“Only when I’m being paid too,” she counters teasingly.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Nixie! You can find me where I post the things I [create](https://nixies-creations.tumblr.com/), or at my main blog [here](http://nixie-deangel.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
